Loading apparatus.



J. MQGABE. LOADING APPARATUS. APPLIOATIOH FILED JULY 10, 1907.

Patented Dec. 22, 1908.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

Wit" eases J MoCABE LOADING APPARATUS.

AJPPLIUATION FILED JULY 16, 1907.

Patented Dec. 22, 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

'companying drawmgs,

UNITED STATES PATENT ornron.

JAMES MGOABE, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

LOADING APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AMES Mc-OABn, a citi- Zen of the United States,residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State ofMinnesota, have invented a new and use ful Loading Apparatus, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to loading apparatus of that type employing aforwardly extending gatherin fork that is pivotally mounted on a vehic esoas to be actuated by means of a forward movement of the latter throughmechanism arranged between the fork and one of the wheels of thevehicle, and more particularly to apparatus of that class in which thefork is adapted to deposit the load into a suitable box or receptaclecarried by the vehicle at the rear of the fork.

. The invention has for one of its objects to provide an apparatus forloading shocks of hay, grain, fodder, or other material into the body ofthe vehicle in a simple and effective manner.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a pivotallymounted gathering fork which is actuated by means of a flexible elementarranged to simultaneously wind at one end and unwind at the other endon oscillatory quadrant or sheave segments, one of such quadrant orsheave segments being actuated from one of the axles of the vehiclethrough gearing that is adapted to be clutched by the attendant.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for automaticallyunclutching the driving connections when the fork has reached thedumping position.

A still further object of the invention is the employment of a bufferarranged on the front end of the vehicle box -or body in the path of thefork so as to position the latter at the end of its lifting stroke.

A still further object is to improve and simplify the construction andoperation of apparatus of the character referred to so as to becomparatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture and keep in repair,thoroughly reliable and efficient in use, and convenient to manipulate-With these and other objects in view, as will more fully hereinafter apear, the invention consists in certain novel features of constructionand arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described, illustrated inthe acand particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it beingSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 16, 1907.

Patented Dec. 22, 1908.

Serial No. 383,970.

understood that various changes in the form, proportions, size and minordetails of the structure may be made without departing from the spiritor sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings :Figure l is a side elevation of a loadingapparatus con structed and arranged in accordance with the invention.Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view of the winding member. Fig. 3 is avertical section on the line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail Viewillustrating the means for automatically unclutching the fork actuatingmeans.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate correspondingparts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawing, A designates the running gears of a fourwheeled vehicle on which is pivotally mounted a tilting box or body B,and hingedly supported on the running gears at a point in front of thebox is a gathering fork C. The running gear comprises front and rearsupporting wheels 1 and 2 on which the frame 3 18 carried. The tiltingbox is of that type having its axis of tilting slightly to the rear ofits middle so that the forward ortion of the box will rest normally onthe f i ame 3 While the rear portion overhangs the latter, the axis oftilting being the axle 4 for therear wheels. The fork comprises aplurality of parallel tines 5 suitably connected together and pivoted attheir rear ends on the shaft 6, the said shaft being journaled inbearings 7, (of which one is shown in the present illustration), andlocated slightly in advance of the front end of the box 3. Carried onthe front of the box is a buffer D comprising a frame 8 pivoted at itsbottom to the box B at the point 9. This frame is yieldably held in aforwardly inclined position by means of the extension spring 10 locatedunder the box with its rear end 11 anchored thereto and its front endconnected to the frame 8. The buffer D is thus located in the path ofthe fork C as it moves on its lifting stroke, thereby cushioning thelatter and bringin it gradually to rest without striking forcib yagainst the box B.

The mechanism for actuating the fork C is constructed as follows :Adjacent the front of the frame 3 of the vehicle is a sheave segment orquadrant 12 fulcrumed at 13 on the frame 3 at a point slightly in frontof the box B. This sheave segment or quadrant is composed of a curvedmember 14 of V-shaped cross section and radial arms 15 to which the saidmember is connected. One of the arms is disposed normally in ahorizontal position and is provided with an extension 16 that isflexibly connected by links 17 to the fork C adjacent the middle.Cooperating with the sheave segment or quadrant 12 is a second sheavesegment or quadrant designated generally by 18 and more clearly shown inFigs. 2 and 3. This sheave segment or quadrant is composed of a curvedmetal strip 19 of \I-shaped cross section and connected to the outer endof the right angularly disposed arm 20. The said arms and grooved member19 are provided with a plurality of apertures 21, whereby the'parts canbe adjustably connected in different positions by bolts 22 passingthrough registering apertures. The inner ends of the arms 20 are held insockets 23 formed on a disk or wheel 24, rivets or other fastenings 25being employed to hold the parts together. Associated with these sheavesegments or quadrants 12 and 18 is a flexible element 26, such as a wirecable, that has both ends fixed to the bottom portions of the members 14and 19 of the sheave segments or quadrants, the arrangement being suchthat the cable will wind up in the groove of one of said members whileunwinding from the groove of the other member. Of this motiontransmitting mechanism the sheave segment or quadrant 18 is the driver,and the same is adapted to produce a draft on the cable 26 so that thesheave segment or quadrant 12 is rocked and the fork C raised to itsunloading position. The unloading position of the fork is such that thelatter will return to its initial position by its own weight, when thepower 18 released from the actuating sheave segment or quadrant 18. Thesheave segment or quadrant 18 is mounted on the main axle 4 and isadapted to be clutched thereto when the o erator desires to raise thefork. The clutc ing of the quadrant of sheave segment with the axle isaccomplished by means of a gear constructed on the come pensating typeand comprising a wheel 27 (eyed to the rear axle 4 and carrying aplurality of )inions 29 that mesh with the teeth of the wheels 24 and30, which latter are loosely mounted on the axle. To cause the sheavesegment or quadrant 18 to be actuated it is merely necessary to arrestthe movement of the wheel 30. This causes the pinions 29 to be actuated,the wheel 24 forming part of the cam structure 18. To arrest themovement of the wheel 30, the latter is provided with one or moreradially extending projections 31, and mounted on the frame 3 adjacentthe wheel is a lever or stop 32 fulcrumed at 33 and carrying a roller 34that is adapted to engage the periphery of the wheel 30 and abut any oneof the projections 31. This stop device 32 is connected by a rod 35 toan operating lever 36 fulcrumed adjacent to the front of the frame 3.The operating lever 36 is connected to a lever 37 which is ar ranged inthe path of movement of a lug 38 that is carried by the fork, the lugbeing so arranged that as the fork nears the limit of its upwardmovement, said lug will engage the lever 37 and will move the lever 36to effect the withdrawal of the stop device from engagement with thewheel 30, thereby automatically disconnecting the fork actuatingmechanism, so that the fork is free to return to the load receivingposition by gravity.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing, the advantages of the construction and of themethod of operation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the artto which the invention appertains. In operation, the vehicle is drivenforwardly by horses, or any other suitable means, the draft device forattaching the horses to the vehicle being eliminated in the presentinstance, since the same does not enter into the present invention.Assuming that the fork C has received its load, and the attendant hasthrown the lever 36 forwardly, the fork is raised in the followingmanner. The stop 32 is moved from its dotted line position, Fig. 2, toits full line position through the movement of the operating lever 36.The wheel 30, which normally rotates with the axle 4 by meshing with thepinions 29, is immediately brought to rest so that the wheel 24 of thesheave segment or quadrant 18, which has in the meantime been idle, isactuated by the pinions 29 which revolve with the wheel 28. The sheaveseg ment or quadrant 18 is thus turned so as to cause the cable 26 towind thereon and unwind from the sheave segment or quadrant 12. Sincethe said sheave segment or uadrant is connected with the fork O, theatter is raised so as to deposit its load into the box B. Near the endof the unloading stroke, the fork strikes against the buffer D so as topermit the stroke to end gradually. Near the end of the unloading strokethe lug 38 of the fork will strike the lever 37 and the lever 38 will bemoved in such manner as to withdraw the stop device 32 from engagementwith the wheel 30, so that the fork can be turned to its lowermost loadreceiving position. As the fork swings down, the cable 26 winds up onthe sheave segment or quadrant 12 and unwinds from the sheave segment orquadrant 18, and as the lever 36 is moved to release position, the wheel30 is free to turn during the return stroke of the sheave segment orquadrant 18.

While the connections have been described in the nature of sheavesegments connected by a flexible cable, it is to be understood thatgears may be substituted for these connections without departing fromthe invention. One or both of the segment or sheave sec tions isprovided with a winding surface disposed eccentrically to its center ofrotation, so that as the cable is Wound, the fork will be raised with anaccelerated movement and maximum power is rendered available forovercoming the inertia of and imparting initial movement to the fork andits load.

I claim 1. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination witha vehicle, a receptacle mounted thereon, a loading fork carried by thevehicle, a loading fork actuating mechanism, manually operable means forclutching the same to a revoluble part of the vehicle, and means forautomatically unclutching said fork and permitting it to fall when thefork has moved to discharge position and an element upon the fork toactuate the unclutching means.

2. In apparatus of the class described, a vehicle, a pivotally mountedfork carried thereby, a fork actuating means including a manuallyoperable clutch, and mechanism for automatically disconnecting saidclutch and permitting said fork to fall when the movement of the fork isarrested at loading position and an element upon the fork to actuate thedisconnecting mechanism.

3. In a device of the kind described, the combination with a truckhaving traction wheels and a box or receptacle, of. a fork pivoted tothe truck frame in front of said box, a pair of sheave segmentsconnected to said fork, a pair of sheave segments loose with respect tothe traction Wheels of said truck, means for connecting said lattersheave segments to said traction wheels, at will, and means fordisconnecting them at the proper times, and cables connecting thecorresponding sheave segments and arranged to raise said fork with anaccelerated movement and with a maximum initial power.

4. In a device of the kind described, the combination with a truckhaving rear traction wheels, front steering wheels and a box, of a forkpivoted to said truck frame in front of said box, lifting levers pivotedto said truck frame and connected to said fork, sheave segments carriedby said lifting levers, wheel driven sheave segments adjacent to saidtraction wheels, cables connecting the corresponding front and rearsheave segments, means for coupling said rear segments to the tractionwheels, at will, and means operating automatically to release saidsheave segments from said wheels, at the completion of the upwardmovement of said fork.

5. In a device of the kind described, the combination with a truckhaving rear traction wheels, a front steering wheel, of a pivotallymounted fork, power transmitting de vices for connecting the rear axleto the fork, a lever, a clutching means operable by said lever andcontrolling the connection between the rear axle and the powertransmitting mechanism, and means on the fork for moving said lever torelease position when the fork nears the limit of its unloading movementarranged to permit the fork to fall.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES MGOABE. Witnesses:

JNo. E. PARKER, J. Ross COLHOUN.

